Flush-type door latch



March 4, 1947. Wl R, ANDREWS FLUSH-NEE DooR LATCH Filed Feb. 9, 1944Patented Mar. 4, `1947 UNITED STATES PATENTl OFFICEv 'FLUSH-TYPEDoon-LATCH Weldon R. Andrews, Seattle, Wash., assignor to HartwellAviation Supply Co., vLos Angeles, Calif., a copartnership ApplicationFebruary 9, 1944, Serial No. 521,634

3 Claims.

also useful on automobile doors for the same reason, and for theadditional reason vthat they do not present any outwardly projectinghandle that could become caught into cnes lcloth-ing and possibly `causeaccidents. Y

`object of the present invention is to produce a hush-type latch whichis of very simple construction and inexpensive to manufacture, butwhichvvill operate eiectively as a latch.

in the preferred embodiment of the invention the door to which the latchis applied is provided with a slot or opening through its Wallin thevicinity of the latch, and in this opening the actuator for the latchislocated vin such va position that its outer face is substantially flushwith the outer face of the door.

This actuator is mounted to rock on a substantially vertical pivotalaxis, and the rocking movement is initiated by pressure exerted on theend of the actuator that is located toward, or Aadja-` cent to, thekeeper with which the bolt `of the latch cooperates. This rockingmovement would naturally project this end of the actuator into the pathof the latch bolt and this would interfere with the withdrawing movement`of the latch bolt. One of the objects oi this invention is to overcomethis difficulty and to provide a construction for the actuator and boltwhich will enable them to cooperate without the rocking movement 'of theactuator interfering in any way with the withdrawal movement of thebolt. Another object oi the invention is to produce a latch of this typehaving very few parts, so that it will be light weight, thereby adaptingit particularly for use on airplanes; also to provide such a latch witha bolt having a form which enables it to present a curved, or cam, faceof considerable length to strike the keeper and 'force the bolt backwhen the door .is slammed or moved l without the use of a large amountoi metal that would otherwise be necessary and which would increase Ytheweight of the latch.

Further objects of the invention will appear i hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations ci' parts tobe described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce anefficient flush-typer door latch.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecications, while thc Vbroad scope .of the invention is pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figi is a side elevation showing a door `having a latch constructed inaccordance with this invention. In this view the side plating of theairplane is broken away in the vicinity of the door-frame.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1upon an enlarged scale and looking upwardly. But this View shows thelatch in its open position, that is to say, with the bolt withdrawnsolas to permit the door to be swung open.

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the parts illustrated in Fig. 2 asAViewed from the `position .of the line 3-3 on the inner side of thedoor, but with the latch bolt in its closed position.

Figi illustrates the side wall I of an airplane provided with a doorwayhaving a door-frame indicated by the dotted outline 2, and provided witha door 3 which may be mounted on a vertical hinge connection ll at oneof the side edges of the doorway. Adjacent the free, or swinging, edge 5of the door 3 the material of the door is provided with an opening 6,and in Athis opening the actuator 1 for the bolt 8 of the latch ismovably mounted.

The actuator l is preferably mounted near its vertical middle axis on apivot connection so that it can swing on a, vertical axis, In thepresent instance, in order to mount the actuator, I prefer to provide abase-member or base-plate l t which is attached to the inner face oi thedoor 3 by suitable small bolts ll which are illustrated k1n Fig. 3, butsome of which are omitted in Fig. v2 for the sake of clearness in thedrawing, This base-plate l 0 is provided with an opening l2 that to itsclosed position; also to accomplish this 50 is juxtaposed on thatportion of the area ofthe opening 6 that is located nearest to the freeedge of the door; and adjacent each side edge I3 of this opening I2 thebase-plate lil is provided with projecting ears I@ preferably madeintegral with the base-plate. These ears I4 project inboard in asubstantially horizontal direction.

The actuator includes an outer body or ller I 5 that ts nicely into theopening E and against its beveled end edges 6a and 6b when the latch Yis in its closed position. This filler is attached axis already referredto, By projecting these arms I'I in an inboard direction to aconsiderable dis` tance, I am able to vprovide a clearance space I9 inthe path of the bolt 8, into Which the inwardly pressed end of theactuator may move Without obstructing Vthe withdrawing movement of thebolt.

In order to provide this clearance space and at the same time to producea light-Weight bolt 8 suited to my purpose, I prefer to construct theplate Iii and a bracket portion including an ofiset'extension 2l thatextends inboard,

At its inbo'ard end the extension 2l is bent around to forman attachingarm or link 22, the end of which is connected to the ends of the armsITI. In the present instance the side edges of this link are providedwith integralV projecting pintles 23 that project into eyes24 formed inthe ends of the arms, to receive them.

The manner of guiding the body portion 2Q of the bolt on the base-plateI@ is somewhat free, that is to say, the bolt is not guided so that ritmust slide absolutely in a plane alongside of the base-plate lil but theend of the bolt that cooperates With the keeper 25 of the latch isguided in the vicinity of the keeper, In order to accomplish this I bendthe adjacent edge of the base` plate I0 in an inboard direction to forman integral flange 2t, formedivvith a slot 2l through it which isslightly larger in area than the Ycross section oi the body portion 2i]of the bolt. YIn making the bolt, the strap metal that is used to formthe'bolt is thrust through this guide openl bolt 8 of strap metal, bentso as to present a body l portion 2 that is guided to slide on thebaseing 2l` from the side remote from the keeper 25,` Y

after which the end of the strap is bent around to form a cam extensioncarrying the cam face 28.

In the present instance, the cam face 28 is dis' posed along an arc andthe end of the camV extension 2i; abuts up against the metal of theoir-` set extension 2l; If this latch bolt is made of verylightrmaterial, this end 2S if desired, could be welded to the adjacentmetal of the extension Y Zivtoinsure ,that the cam extension Would havelsulcient rigidity Vso that it willl not be battered out of .position Vbyslamming the door. In this connection, of course, it should beunderstood thatrvvhen the bolt is in its extended position and the dooris slammed or pushed shut, this cam face .28 Will ride on the edge ofthe keeperV '25,v

` l,resilient means associated with the latch in any desired-manner, Inthe present instanceY this resilientmeans is Yinthe form-of a coilspring Y 30 disposed around the bolt or shaft I8. One end of this springis extended in a shank 3| lying against the inboard face of thebase-plate I0 'and the other end is formed with a hooked shank 32 thatengages over the edge of one of the arms I'I. l

Of course, if desired, :the cam face 28 may be a straight inclined faceinstead of a curved face, as shown,

Attention is called to the advantage of the skeleton form of the boltillustrated, providing as` formed thereon; an actuator plate pivotallysecured to said base plate and positioned to close an opening in a dooron which the base plate is mounted, there being an accommodation slot insaid base plate to pass an end of said actuatorplate as said actuatorplate is pivoted; and a latch bolt formed of strap material, saidboltincluding a looped portion having a iiat side adapted to ride onsaid base plate and retained thereon by said guide means, and a cam sideadapted for engagement with a keeper to move the bolt as the door isclosed; and coacting means extending from said bolt andsaid actuator andpivotally connected together Wherebypivotal movement o said actuatoreffects aY sliding movement of said bolt.

2. In aflush-type door latch: an actuator plate adapted to t Within anopening in a door Wall and 'orm aclosure therefor; means for pivotingsaid actuator plate, from'a position in the plane oI said door wail toanangular position relative thereto, said actuator plate including anarm-,prop jecting .into said door; a bolt formedY of a sheet strip andincluding a loop portion having a flatl tioned adjacent-said door, a camside yextending inboard of said flat side for camming co-action withsaid keeper, and an arm continuing from f l v the inboard extremitynofsaid cam side in spacedY y relation tothe door and pivotally connectedtof the arm of saidfactuator plate.

3L A iiush-type latch comprising: a base plateV of sheet materialhaving'ajpartially rolled end l slotted to form a guide means, a centralaccommodation slot,l and means 'for attaching the base plate to theinner side ofpa doorwith said accommodation slot communicating With an,opening in said door; an actuator plate adapted to fit said journalmeans from fa position closingY the opening in said door to an angularposition VWhere-Y in an end of said actuator plate projects through saidaccommodation slot; a latch bolt formed of strapv material, Ysaid boltincluding a looped por.- j

tionY and a Iiat side, the flat side being threaded through and guidedby the slottedV end of said d base platea camiormed bysaid'loopedportion adapted forengagement with a, keeper to movethe bolt as thedoorisclosed, andan arm con,-r

ItV combines l tinuing from said cam between the arms of said actuatorplate and pivotally connected therebetween for sliding said bolt as saidactuator plate is pivoted.

WELDON R. ANDREWS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Murphy June 21, 1938Halnka Sept. 29, 1936 Marsh May 21, 1940 Bales et a1 Dec. 14, 1943 AdamsAug. 26, 1941 Segar Jan. 28, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date FrenchMar. 11, 1935 French Oct. 8, 1930

